Chapter 205 Awakening

Qi Yutai had a dream.

A very long dream.

The dream was fragmented and noisy. One moment it was a thatched house with a bird cage hanging in Mangming Township, and the next moment it was a raging fire in Fengle Building. In the ashes, he saw an old face with blood in his eyes and nose. A stupid fool looked at him with a smile, and the eyebrows on his shoulder chirped crisply.

He fled in panic, but was stopped by a locked door. Looking back, in the Jingzhe room of Fengle Building, the beauty in the painting was crying and looking at him coldly.

"Ah——"

Qi Yutai opened his eyes suddenly and sat up from the couch.

There was a hurried sound of footsteps in his ears, and then the voice of a servant came: "Master?"

Qi Yutai looked around in fear.

On the golden mat, the white magnolia Ruyi cloud pattern was wrinkled into a ball. On the table in the distance, the incense burner exuded the familiar aroma of Lingxixiang. He was in a trance for a moment, and slowly understood.

This is in his own room.

Did I just have a dream?

"When did I fall asleep?" He lifted the quilt and asked the person beside him while rubbing his forehead.

The maid was stunned for a moment, and then her face suddenly showed surprise: "Young Master is awake?"

She turned around and shouted to the courtyard: "Go tell the master, the young master is awake--"

Qi Yutai frowned and shook his head. He felt that his head was heavy, as if he had not slept for several days and nights, and he was drowsy.

Thinking about it again, he couldn't remember when he got on the bed and what he did before going to bed.

While rubbing his temples, he suddenly heard someone outside the door saying: "Master Qi is awake?"

The voice was very familiar, and Qi Yutai was stunned.

He looked up and saw a woman standing outside the door. She was wearing a light blue robe, with delicate eyebrows and eyes, and walked in with a bowl of soup.

Qi Yutai paused, then pointed at the person in front of him and shouted: "Lu Tong!"

He asked: "Why are you here?"

Why did Lu Tong appear in his room?

The female doctor put the medicine bowl in her hand on the table, looked at him and said: "Mr. Qi, the Grand Tutor asked me to come."

"My father?"

Qi Yutai looked at the people around him suspiciously: "What do you mean?"

The maid lowered her head and explained: "Mr., you were sick again a few days ago, and the master asked someone to invite Doctor Lu to treat you."

He was sick?

Qi Yutai was at a loss. When did this happen? However, when he thought about it carefully, he suddenly felt as if someone took a thin long needle and stirred it in his mind, giving him a splitting headache.

Qi Yutai perked up and sneered at the person in front of him: "What a joke, my illness has always been entrusted to Cui Min. He is just a doctor from the Imperial Academy of Medical Officers, not qualified to treat me. Where is Cui Min? Let him roll over!"

The maid buried her head even lower: "Master, something happened to Cui Min."

"Something happened?" Qi Yutai frowned, "What happened?"

He was about to ask again, and suddenly a voice of "Yutai" came from outside the door.

Qi Yutai looked forward, and the housekeeper helped Qi Qing into the house.

The old master's robe, which was always neat, was slightly wrinkled, and he coughed as he walked. He probably rushed over as soon as he heard his son wake up. Qi Yutai called "Father", and Qi Qing's eyebrows and eyes immediately relaxed.

The housekeeper helped Qi Qing forward, and Lu Tong stepped aside. Qi Qing came to the bedside, and looked at Qi Yutai carefully with his gray eyes. After a while, he said, "Are you awake?"

Qi Yutai said "hmm" and looked at Lu Tong impatiently: "Father, what happened to Cui Min? Why did you let her come to treat me? Previously, Qinhu died in the hands of this woman in Huangmaogang-"

"Yutai."

Qi Qing's voice was calm, and the rest of Qi Yutai's words were stuck in his chest, and he dared not say a word.

The old master turned to look at Lu Tong.

"Doctor Lu," he said, "thank you for taking care of my son. You have worked hard these days. Come, take Doctor Lu down to rest."

This means that they will stay for the father and son to talk.

Lu Tong nodded, followed the maid in the room and left, and the door was closed.

Qi Yutai sat by the couch, watching Lu Tong leave the room, and finally spoke indignantly: "Father, this bitch has been entangled with Pei Yunying, making my sister sad, and humiliating my Qi family in public. How can you be so polite to her? Isn't this a slap in the face of the Qi family?"

His eyebrows were manic, and Qi Qing frowned slightly.

"You just recovered from your illness," Qi Qing said, "You need to take care of yourself."

"I'm not sick at all. Father," Qi Yutai said, "Why is Cui Min not here?"

"She will treat you in the future." Qi Qing ignored him, "You can't make any mistakes in the Tianzhangtai Festival."

"Father! I'm not sick at all!" Qi Yutai raised his voice.

The room was silent for a moment.

The servants lowered their heads, and no one dared to speak.

Meeting Qi Qing's calm eyes, Qi Yutai shrank and slowed down his tone: "Father, I'm really not sick. Didn't Cui Min say it? I was just frightened..."

His words gradually faded in Qi Qing's silence.

Qi Yutai clenched the blanket under his hands.

He didn't think he was sick.

He didn't remember what he did when he was sick. After all, he felt dizzy when he woke up, but he didn't feel uncomfortable. But he also knew that his father always paid attention to the reputation of the Qi family. The rumors about Fengle Building had already made his father uneasy. This time he had another attack, his father must be very disappointed in him.

Maybe it was because he had just recovered from a serious illness, his face was particularly pale and worrying. Qi Qing looked at him for a moment, and finally relaxed, saying: "After you recover from your illness, you can do whatever you want with her."

Qi Yutai was stunned, and suddenly happy: "Really?"

Qi Qing always took care of everything he did. In fact, he wanted to take action against Lu Tong before, but he delayed it for his father's sake. Later, he ran into Fengle Building...

"Go to the Sili Mansion tomorrow, and then rest in the mansion." Qi Qing coughed a few more times, "Don't run around before the festival."

Qi Qing didn't blame himself. Although his tone was flat, he was concerned. Qi Yutai was flattered and responded. He said a few more words to Qi Qing. The housekeeper helped Qi Qing leave, and Qi Yutai sat alone on the couch.

He was still dizzy. He looked around. The antique vases in the house seemed to have been put away. The shelf was empty. The personal maid was a stranger. Qi Yutai thought carefully for a while. He was not sure if he had killed the maid again, so he just sat on the couch in a daze.

Someone came in and said, "Mr. Qi, remember to take the medicine." As he said that, a bowl of medicine was handed to Qi Yutai.

Qi Yutai raised his eyelids and saw Lu Tong coming in again.

She held the bowl with both hands, and the brown medicine was in front of her eyes. Qi Yutai didn't take it, but just glanced at her and said in confusion: "How did you convince my father?"

Qi Qing never told him about Cui Min, but even if Cui Min was in trouble, knowing that this woman had evil intentions and caused him to lose face before, his father still asked her to treat him. Qi Yutai couldn't understand it.

"It was Lord Qi who found me personally." Lu Tong said.

Did my father take the initiative to find her?

Qi Yutai frowned, and he didn't understand what Qi Qing meant by this.

The woman stood in front of him with her eyebrows lowered and her eyes lowered. Thinking of what Qi Qing had promised him just now, Qi Yutai glanced at the medicine in her hand: "Isn't it poisonous?"

"Mr. Qi is joking."

"I don't think you dare." Qi Yutai sneered, and then looked at her, and the corner of his mouth suddenly curled maliciously: "In this case, then I'll trouble Doctor Lu to feed me."

Lu Tong looked at him.

Qi Yutai smiled contemptuously.

So what if he was a medical officer? Once he entered the Grand Tutor's Mansion, he was just a dog of the Qi family, just like Cui Min.

He was driven by others.

After a moment of silence, Lu Tong lowered her eyes, picked up the medicine bowl, and brought the soup spoon to Qi Yutai's lips.

Qi Yutai's smile became more and more comfortable.

Her fingertips touched Qi Yutai's face, which was cold and not like a living person. However, unexpectedly, the soup was not too bitter. It was much fresher and sweeter than the medicine boiled by Cui Min before. I don't know if it was an illusion, but the sweet fragrance was somewhat similar to the "pond spring grass dream" lit in the Sili Mansion before.

Unconsciously, he finished a bowl of medicine.

Lu Tong put down the empty bowl, and Qi Yutai squinted at her.

She turned around to pick up the remaining medicine on the table, still with a calm expression, as if she didn't take the humiliation just now to heart.

Qi Yutai looked at her calm appearance, and suddenly a fire broke out in his heart.

"Last time at Huangmaogang, he would rather die than kneel. I thought that Doctor Lu was so noble, but I didn't expect to see such a humble side of Doctor Lu."

Qi Yutai sarcastically said: "Why, where is your good lover Pei Yunying? I asked you to serve me. If he also saw you serving other men with a humble face, I wonder if he would still want you."

"It is natural for a doctor to treat illnesses. Mr. Qi, please be careful with your words."

The bright sun seeped in from the window. Lu Tong stood in the shadow under the window, half-closed his eyes, moved slowly, and did not respond to his words. He just lowered his head and said: "Mr. Qi, remember to take medicine on time every day, don't walk too much, and stay in the mansion more. Rest in the middle. Lord Qi has told me that as the beginning of autumn approaches, the bedding should not be too thin, the incense in the room should be changed from time to time, and you must go to bed before the hour of Xu, and eat light meals..."

She said a lot in a row, calling him "Lord Qi" all the time, which made Qi Yutai more and more upset. He said coldly: "Don't you make the medicine every day?" He glanced at the low couch by the door and said with a playful look, "You are living in the same room with me."

"Before, Mr. Qi was seriously ill, and I stayed in the mansion to treat him. Now Mr. Qi has woken up and his condition has improved. Lord Qi allowed me to go home. I will visit Mr. Qi every other day to feel his pulse and diagnose him."

Qi Yutai's face sank.

He originally wanted to torture Lu Tong.

Lu Tong stepped back, holding the packed medicine tray and nodded to him, "Mr. Qi has just recovered from a serious illness, remember to take good care of yourself. When you were sick before, Mr. Qi was concerned about you in every detail. Mr. Qi must not let Mr. Qi down."

After speaking, he bowed to Qi Yutai and bowed his head and left.

Qi Yutai was already upset, and it would have been fine if Lu Tong hadn't said this. After he said this, he looked at the newly changed bedding in the room, the unfamiliar maid, and even the burning Lingxi incense on the table and felt uncomfortable.

My father was strict in his discipline, and now he was detained in the mansion, and I'm afraid he had no freedom at all.

That bit of mania was like a spark that grew bigger and bigger, and it burned fiercely in an instant, but there was nowhere to dissipate it, so he vented this hatred on the shadow that had just left.

"Bitch." He said.

"After the ceremony, see how I torture you."

...

Lu Tong left the Grand Tutor's Mansion with the medical box on his back.

As soon as she stepped out of the gate of the Grand Tutor's Mansion, the world suddenly became much wider. The refreshing breeze blew on her face, sweeping away the stagnation and stickiness of the past few days, and even dispelling a lot of the nausea in her chest.

She got on the carriage and went back to West Street. Yin Zheng and the others were very happy to see her back.

"Is the son of the Qi family recovered from his illness?"

Miao Liangfang pulled her aside and asked secretly.

Lu Tong nodded.

Miao Liangfang breathed a sigh of relief: "Buddha bless me, I was worried about something going on."

Miao Liangfang has always been worried about Lu Tong.

The last time he met Cui Min, Cui Min's words always made Miao Liangfang feel uneasy. Qi Yutai was ill, Cui Min was imprisoned at this critical moment, and Lu Tong took over, but madness has always been difficult to treat. This is a hot potato. If you are not careful, you will lose more than you gain.

Du Changqing squeezed over and looked at her carefully for a moment: "You look haggard. Tsk, I said that rich people are not good people. They treat people like animals, right? Look at the bottom of your eyes, it's as black as ink... How much silver did I give you? You have to pay more!"

"Money, money, money, the boss only cares about money. Don't you see how tired the girl is." Yin Zheng pushed Lu Tong into the courtyard, "I'll go get the bath water for the girl. It seems that she hasn't had a good rest in the Tai Shi Mansion these days. It's good to be back. It's just right to rest for a few days."

The hot water was quickly boiled, Lu Tong changed her clothes, and lay in the wooden barrel. The hot steam blurred her eyes, but it relieved some of the fatigue of the past few days.

Yin Zheng came in with clean clothes and hung them on the screen.

"Miss," she sat down in front of the small table behind the screen, picking up the unfinished needlework and whispered: "Is Mr. Qi really well?"

Lu Tong said "hmm".

Yin Zheng was a little puzzled.

Lu Tong came to Beijing to avenge the Qi family. Now that the enemy is right in front of her, Lu Tong cured Qi Yutai.

She doesn't understand.

Yin Zheng wanted to ask, but she swallowed the words back. Even if she asked Lu Tong, she wouldn't say it. Lu Tong always did her own things quietly and never let outsiders know.

After thinking about it, she talked about another thing: "Miss, the Qixi Festival is in a few days. Mr. Miao has made a new medicinal tea. It is for women to replenish blood and nourish qi, and for men to strengthen yang and strengthen kidneys. They are put in the same straw basket for sale. I saw that many clinics in Shengjing Medical Company did this. Manager Du said that we should learn it too."

"It's just that the straw basket looks too rough. I thought. Make a colorful silk ribbon and hang it up. Anyway, women also make ribbons to give to their loved ones on Qixi Festival." Yin Zheng held a string of silk ribbons in her hand high for Lu Tong to see, "Miss, look, doesn't it look less monotonous?"

Lu Tong looked over.

The colorful silk ribbons in Yin Zheng's hands looked like colorful garlands, so beautiful that she nodded and said, "Beautiful."

"I think it looks beautiful too. If you want to learn it later, I'll teach you." Yin Zheng smiled and said, "It's not difficult at all. Just make a suitable one and hang it around your waist. It will look good with a skirt."

Lu Tong was about to nod when she suddenly remembered something: "Isn't Qixi the seventh day of the first lunar month?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"I had to go out for something that day."

Yin Zheng was stunned: "What did you go out for?"

Tentatively looked at Lu Tong again, "Are you celebrating with someone?"

"No." Lu Tong replied, "I'm celebrating someone's birthday."

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month, Qixi Festival, is Pei Yunshu's birthday. Pei Yunying had mentioned this when he came to the Medical Officer's Court last time.

She almost forgot about it.

...

In Pei's house, Pei Yunshu was gesturing a few clothes in front of Pei Yunying.

Pei Yunying stood there with a slight look of impatience on his face. Baozhu sat on the low couch, holding a golden butterfly in her hands, and looked at the two of them and laughed.

"Even Baozhu couldn't stand it anymore," Pei Yunying raised his hand, pushed aside the clothes that Pei Yunshu was gesturing in front of him, turned around and sat down on the low couch, and picked up Baozhu to avoid Pei Yunshu's subsequent busyness.

"Sister, you made so many new clothes, why don't you make a new cabinet."

Pei Yunshu let go and glanced at him: "Oh? I made so many new clothes, and you wore official clothes every day. I thought you looked down on them and threw them all away for me."

"You are slandering me again." Pei Yunying smiled, "It's natural to wear official clothes when you are on duty in the palace. I have worn them on weekdays."

"Wear, wear, wear, anyway, I have never seen it once!" Pei Yunshu glared at him, "Get up! It's my birthday the day after tomorrow, you must choose a satisfactory one to wear."

Pei Yunying was standing still. But she did not move: "It's your birthday, not mine, why should I dress so brightly."

"Miss Lu will also come the day after tomorrow, if you wear a work uniform, others will think you are on duty."

Hearing this, Pei Yunying's eyes moved slightly, but he still sat there unwilling to get up, and said slowly: "Doctor Lu is not a person who judges people by appearance, and," he paused, "I am not ugly, why do I need clothes to make me more beautiful."

Seeing him like this, Pei Yunshu sighed, put down the pile of clothes in her hands, and sat down at the round table opposite Pei Yunying.

"Ah-Ying," Pei Yunshu said earnestly, "Sister is not a fool. Can't I see what you think of Miss Lu?"

"I know you have been pampered since you were a child. You won't speak unless you are completely sure of something. But love is irrational. Your heart is not controlled by you. If you want to deal with your heart like handling official business, it is impossible."

She said: "If you are interested in Miss Lu, you must show it in a real way. Ask her what she likes and give her what she likes. Take her out often to make her happy. You know how tiring it is to work in the imperial city better than others. She is an ordinary person, and it will be even more difficult."

Pei Yunying listened carelessly and took back the hair that was grasped by Baozhu from Baozhu's hand. Baozhu happily held the golden butterfly and put it on his head.

Pei Yunshu then said, "Besides, Miss Lu has a fiancé who is not sure whether it is real or fake..."

Speaking of this, she suddenly looked at Pei Yunying: "Ah Ying, it's my birthday the day after tomorrow, why don't I help you ask Miss Lu if she has someone she likes?"

Pei Yunying said speechlessly: "No."

"You don't do this or that." Pei Yunshu was angry, "I heard from Duan Xiaoyan that Miss Lu is very popular in your palace. It's true that such a beautiful, kind, and smart girl, if I have a son, I would also like to look for my son. How can it be your turn..."

She talked for a long time, and seeing that the man still didn't care, she pushed her clothes on the table in anger: "I've said everything I should say, you didn't listen to anything, don't regret it in the future!" After that, she hugged Baozhu back and said angrily: "Let's go, don't pay attention to him."

Pei Yunying: "..."

The room returned to silence.

The young man lowered his head and picked up the golden butterfly that Baozhu had left on the bed.

The butterfly's wings sparkled and bloomed at his fingertips. Like the faint sparks in his black eyes, it was so beautiful that the whole room was illuminated.

He lowered his eyes and looked for a while, then put his hands together and pinched the butterfly in his palms, and smiled faintly.